I've moved!

Hi there and welcome to another moment of the mania! I'm Ann Shannon, the manic writer. I blog about PTSD and encouragement and write book reviews and romantic fiction. My passion is the military, soldiers, and veterans, especially those with PTSD. I love that you stopped by, grab a drink and make yourself at home. Leave a comment or find me on social media, I'd love to meet you and get to know you.

Come join me at my new site.  

Click here and don't forget to change your bookmarks!

I've moved! 

Come join me at my new site.  

Click here and don't forget to change your bookmarks!

It is my goal to end the stigma that comes with PTSD. I blog about PTSD once a week, searching the mountains of information out there and bringing you the best of what I find. I review a book on PTSD every other week and I publish a weekly encouraging reflection and tweet encouraging quotes for PTSD survivors daily, follow me to be encouraged. Together we can make a difference.

When I'm not blogging about PTSD or trying to encourage those of you living with it. I'm an author. I write romance. I just finished my first book and I am revising and editing it. With any luck, it will be published later this year, in the meantime you can get a sample of my work on the web. Original work can be found here, and fanfiction can be found here. Let me know what you think, and tell me how you found me!

YouTube Tuesday

Hi there and welcome to another moment of the mania! I'm Ann Shannon, the manic writer. I blog about PTSD, encouragement, and write book reviews and romantic fiction. My passion is the military, soldiers, and veterans, especially those with PTSD. I love that you stopped by, grab a drink and make yourself at home. Leave a comment or find me on social media, I'd love to meet you and get to know you.

I love these guys. They are hysterical to watch. In this episode, they are doing a blind taste and identification of juices. They did this once with bottled water and that one is worth watching also.

I love the faces they make when they don't really like what they are tasting and the camaraderie that occurs between them. It's clear that they are good friends and have been for a long time, their friendship shines through.




I included the water one just for fun.

I usually blog about PTSD and if you come here for that don't be discouraged by the different topic, this is what I do when I'm not talking about the subject that fills every corner of my life. I will be continuing to blog even while I write. It helps, a lot, to have something that I love to do and for me that's writing love stories! Even my husband gets in on the action, discussing books ideas, plots, and characters with me for hours. My work is available for free right now, just check out my links to the right. And make sure you make time for fun too!

The Power of Positivity

Courtesy of Northern Exposures

Hi there and welcome to another moment of the mania! I'm Ann Shannon, the manic writer. I blog about PTSD, encouragement, and write book reviews and romantic fiction. I love that you stopped by, grab a drink and make yourself at home. Leave a comment or find me on social media, I'd love to meet you and get to know you. My passion is military veterans, especially those with PTSD and their caregivers. 

I had a kitty called Oreo, he was black and white. Did you guess that? And very fat. I'm not kidding we sometimes referred to him as a triple-stuff. 

He was also a very negative cat. He didn't like being handled at all. It's strange really because when I first brought him home he was tiny, just 7 weeks old and we handled him all the time, but over the years he began to dislike it more and more. It finally got to the point that I was the only one who could get near him. He loved me, but not as much as he loved the dog. I guess I know where I rank... 

That's a hundred-pound lab he's sleeping with!

He would crawl into my lap and sleep for hours on it. This wasn't always comfortable for me as he weighed close to 25 pounds, but I put up with it because I loved him. Making the decision to put him down was very hard for me but it was best for him, he was very ill and in a lot of pain.

Is there anyone in your life that you feel this way about? You love them but loving them hurts you sometimes. They are a weight in your day that tends to make body parts fall asleep.

I am not suggesting you euthanize them!

I am suggesting you talk to them about their negativity if you can. Tell them how their negativity affects you, help them find things to be positive about in life. If you can't talk to them then you need to take steps to protect yourself. Limit your contact with them, or increase your contact with other more positive people to balance them.

Distancing yourself from negativity is a kindness you can do for yourself. Negativity lowers your motivation, and ambition. By distancing yourself, you create space for positivity in your life. You can choose to surround yourself with positive people who will encourage you, and believe in you. You can believe in yourself and encourage yourself. And in the process you can help your loved ones caught in negativity as well because you will be the example they can follow.

Oreo was a special kitty in my life. He came into it at a time when I needed something cute and cuddly. Over the years, he distanced himself from others but I think he always had a special place in his heart for me. He allowed me to the be the positive influence in his life that he leaned on. Although I never got him to life the others again he always loved me and I cherish those memories.

Is there someone in your life who brings you down? What steps have you taken to minimize the damage? Have your own attitude changes reflected on them and helped? Share your story in the comments below, I'd love to learn how you've dealt with negativity in your life.

It is my goal to end the stigma that comes with PTSD. I blog about PTSD once a week, searching the mountains of information out there and bringing you the best of what I find. I review a book on PTSD every other week and I publish a weekly encouraging reflection and tweet encouraging quotes for PTSD survivors daily, follow me to be encouraged. Together we can make a difference.

When I'm not blogging about PTSD or trying to encourage those of you living with it. I'm an author. I write romance. I just finished my first book and I am revising and editing it. With any luck, it will be published later this year, in the meantime you can get a sample of my work on the web. Original work can be found here, and fanfiction can be found here. Let me know what you think, and tell me how you found me!

Attitude

Courtesy of Northern Exposures

Hi there and welcome to another moment of the mania! I'm Ann Shannon, the Manic Writer. I blog about PTSD, encouragement and write book reviews and romantic fiction. I love that you stopped by, grab a drink and make yourself at home. Leave a comment or find me on social media, I'd love to meet you and get to know you.

Courtesy of Flickr

A positive attitude is the filter that shapes how we interpret and respond to people and circumstances. Attitudes are habits, and since we become our habits it's important to choose them wisely.

Credit

A positive attitude can change everything. When I was in my 20's I was a single mom and I worked very hard to make ends meet which meant that I often drove a car on the verge of a breakdown. This trained me to have a positive attitude. Once upon starting up from a very long red light my car chose to make a sound that would have rivaled the coming of the apocalypse rather than move forward. The grinding, grating and other offensive noises coming from underneath my feet told me I was staying put for the moment. Where I could have cried I chose positivity instead, I climbed out of my car and cheerfully exclaimed “At least it's not raining!” That's when the volunteer fire alarm rang out for all to hear and I realized I had broken down directly in front of their driveway.

Ah well, positivity will get us part of the way. I made it through that day because I chose to be positive regardless of how dark the circumstances looked.

I know that a car breakdown is nothing in comparison to the challenges we face when we are dealing with mental illness and I do not want to belittle or disparage the pain that we feel when we have PTSD.

I do think there are valuable lessons in my story though. I had several ticks against me that day. I was broke, during that time in my life I rarely had two dimes to rub together. I was alone, I had no one to share the burden of a broken down car with me. I was miles from home, where I broke down I still had a 30 minute drive on back roads before I got home and with a broken car I had to figure out how to do that with a 6 yr old in tow. Finally, I was one step away from a crisis, with no car I had no way to get to work which would have started an avalanche that would have ended with me jobless.

These are all moments that we experience everywhere. If you suffer from PTSD, or love someone who does, then they are all points that, with attitude, you can adjust.

Are you broke? Struggling with PTSD can lead to employment problems but there are resources out there. If you don't have the strength to find them find an advocate who can help you. Be brave and ask for help. I know it's hard but in the end it's worth it.

Are you alone? You may feel very alone but look up and look around. I may not have had a partner at the time, but I had family and when I reached out they were very supportive and helped me while my car was repaired.

Are you miles from home? I've been there. That day I was a mere 20 miles from my home but I've been farther and I know how it feels. And you might just feel lonely in a room of people who love you. Be brave, reach out. I got a ride home and you can too.

Are you one step away from a crisis? Granted me being jobless and potentially homeless is different from the crisis you may be approaching if you have PTSD and again, I recognize that there is no comparison here, just life situations that crop up everywhere. If you feel a crisis coming on, or are in one please, please, please get help. Talk to a family member, a trusted friend, a doctor or call the crisis line. Don't let the trolls win this one.

All this to say that when we look on the positive side we often find a lot more going for us than we originally thought there was. Step back and ask yourself what's good about this situation. Is the sun shining, enjoy it! Do you have a full belly, revel in the feel! Are you surrounded by loved ones who care? Give them a hug and thank them.

courtesy of Flickr

Stay positive my friends.

Please remember that I am a writer and researcher, my key role is to filter through the mountains of information available and bring the best of it to you. I do not and can not offer medical advice if you suspect that you or a loved one is dealing with PTSD please seek professional help immediately. If you are considering suicide, or you believe a loved one is considering it, please call for help now. As I've said before, we can't let the trolls win this battle and 1 suicide is 1 too many.

It is my goal to end the stigma that comes with PTSD. I blog about PTSD once a week, searching the mountains of information out there and bringing you the best of what I find. I review a book on PTSD every other week and I publish a weekly encouraging reflection and tweet encouraging quotes for PTSD survivors daily, follow me to be encouraged. Together we can make a difference.

When I'm not blogging about PTSD or trying to encourage those of you living with it I'm an author. I write romance. I just finished my first book and I am revising and editing it. With any luck, it will be published later this year, in the meantime you can get a sample of my work on the web. Original work can be found here, and fanfiction can be found here. Let me know what you think, and tell me how you found me!

Manic Moments and Quiet Moments

Hi there and welcome to another moment of the mania! I'm Ann Shannon, the manic writer. I blog about PTSD, encouragement and write book reviews and romantic fiction. I love that you stopped by, grab a drink and make yourself at home. Leave a comment or find me on social media, I'd love to meet you and get to know you.

I usually blog about PTSD and if you come here for that don't be discouraged by the different topic, this is what I do when I'm not talking about the subject that fills every corner of my life. I will be continuing to blog even while I write. It helps, a lot, to have something that I love to do and for me that's writing love stories! Even my husband gets in on the action, discussing books ideas, plots, and characters with me for hours. My work is available for free right now, just check out my links to the right. And make sure you make time for fun too!

Halfway through May today and I've been typing my little fingers away as I prepare for JunoWriMo. I am coming up on a very busy week and I wanted to be well prepared for a week off. This Sunday I will attend a local event here called CloverCon with my family. Three of us will be leaving from there for a field trip to Washington DC and returning later in the week. All that to say that I will be taking an enforced week off of writing as I don't own a laptop and I think I'd find it difficult to write away from home effectively.

We are looking forward to CloverCon. The girls went last year and had a blast. This year they will be cosplaying, both as characters from Naruto Shippuden. I will probably tweet pics of them so follow me on twitter and Instagram to see them.

Courtesy of Flickr

Then we will leave with friends of ours directly from the convention and head down to DC for a homeschool field trip. My husband will be home taking care of the dog and working, poor him. We are looking forward to our trip, but I think I will find it hard to not work.

One aspect of my writing mania is that I am compelled to write. I see a lot out there about making yourself make a habit of writing, and writing every day. Writing for me is like breathing, I can't not do it and taking almost a full week off will be challenging for me. As it is I take the weekends off and feel guilty despite working almost an 8 hr day Monday through Friday, all writing or writing related.

In the meantime, I've been preparing blog posts, editing my WIP and pre-writing my JunoWriMo project as when I return from DC I will have slightly more than a week before it begins. And another trip to prepare for before it.

Courtesy of Flickr

Ahh, the life of a writer! So romantic! Don't I wish?!

It is my goal to end the stigma that comes with PTSD. I blog about PTSD once a week, searching the mountains of information out there and bringing you the best of what I find. I review a book on PTSD every other week and I publish a weekly encouraging reflection and tweet encouraging quotes for PTSD survivors daily, follow me to be encouraged. Together we can make a difference.

Why is Dad So Mad?

Book Review

Why is Dad so Mad is a children's book written by Seth Kastle, a veteran and former First Sergeant who served in the Army Reserve for 16 years. He was deployed to Iraq for over a year and now lives with the reality of PTSD in his daily life. Kastle wrote this book to help explain his PTSD to his own children as well as other military families who are learning to live with PTSD .

It is illustrated by Karissa Gonzalez-Othon.

I want to start off by saying how much I love this book! It is illustrated with simple easy to look at drawings. The characters in the book are depicted as a lion family which is appealing to children and adults alike. It explains the way PTSD changes an individual gently and carefully maintaining the focus on the parent/child relationship and focusing on the love a parent feels for their child no matter the challenges they are facing personally. I think it is an excellent addition to the library of any military family and public libraries also.

The characters in Why is Dad So Mad are portrayed as a lion family. I think this was an excellent choice for several reasons. Firstly, it cuts across race unequivocally allowing this book to be an ideal resource for any military family whose dad has PTSD. (Mom's don't feel left out, Kastle is working on his companion volume Why is Mom So Mad.) Army families come in all sizes and colors and using lions as their characters allows his readers to read the book rather than worry about why they don't look the same.

Additionally the use of the lion characters adds to the visual interest and gives the person reading it more to discuss with the child they are reading to. Questions such as “Have you ever seen Daddy get so angry he grew a mane, open up conversation that will help the child work through the complex emotions they are learning to deal with.

Finally the lion characters are appealing to the reader because it makes it easy to see dad cast as the angry lion and the loving protector at the same time. The illustrations about getting angry really quickly and the final one of the whole family in a group hug are some of my favorites in the book.

Kastle uses simple childlike language in relating the struggles someone who has PTSD faces on a daily basis, explaining that Dad had to do “really hard, dangerous work” and that because of that sometimes he has a hard time now. He has trouble relaxing, being patient, and controlling his anger and these are just a few of the symptoms that Kastle touches on so artfully before showing his reader how he deals with those symptoms.

Kastle closes his excellent book with positive family images in which Dad is expressing his love to his family and smiling. He promises that no matter what he will always love them “more than anything.” This is, in my opinion, an excellent way to close a difficult topic with a child. To use Kastle's own words, a child needs to know “more than anything” where he or she stands with the parent who is dealing with PTSD and that they still matter to them.

My own children who are 14 and 18 read this book and adored it. My older daughter, who works at our local library in the children's room shared it with the children's librarian who also purchased a copy for her shelves because she enjoyed it so much.

It is my goal to end the stigma that comes with PTSD. I blog about PTSD once a week, searching the mountains of information out there and bringing you the best of what I find. I review a book on PTSD every other week and I publish a weekly encouraging reflection and tweet encouraging quotes for PTSD survivors daily, follow me to be encouraged. Together we can make a difference.

JunoWriMo

So, CampNaNoWriMo is hardly over. The campfires are just cooling down and our sleeping bags need to be washed, but it's time for the next challenge because when you're a writer there is no such thing as downtime or vacation. My mind is always working on a story, or a character, or a PTSD blog post. I can't help it, it's how the madness manifests in me. As an author/writer/creator, I'm always working on something. So JuNoWriMo here I come!

CampNaNoWriMo was a huge success for me. I wrote 90K words! JuNoWriMo is a little different than camp though. The goal is preset, 50K words and I have a plan already!

I usually blog about PTSD and if you come here for that don't be discouraged by the different topic, this is what I do when I'm not talking about the subject that fills every corner of my life. I will be continuing to blog even while I write. It helps, a lot, to have something that I love to do and for me that's writing love stories! Even my husband gets in on the action, discussing books ideas, plots, and characters with me for hours. My work is available for free right now, just check out my links to the right. And make sure you make time for fun too!

One of the goals I have for JuNoWriMo is to write an anthology of short stories, four or five of them, and offer it up on Amazon for free. I think it's a great way for new readers to get a sample of my writing style and see if they like it. I have a series planned that I will begin sometime next year and I've decided that each of my short stories will be about one or two characters from the series.

Interested yet? The first story in the anthology is the most developed so far. It's called "The Table of Misfit Donors." I'll include the synopsis in a future update post.

Each story will cover a bit of their backstory or an unrelated story, so reading the short stories won't ruin anything for you in the series, it will just familiarize you with the characters a bit. I have three stories laid out, and characters for two of them outlined and I will be working on the rest of that this month in addition to editing and revising other works which can be found here on my blog.

I'm really looking forward to JuNoWriMo. It will give me a chance to work on a project I'd be too likely to put on the back burner. And, if I get myself in gear, it will free me up to re-read the novels I have in revision as I prepare for a second revision. You see, I am new to this fiction writing and it's going to be slow for me while I learn how to not bore you to death with my fumblings.

Subscribe to my blog, follow me on twitter or like me on Facebook so you too can follow my progress as I stumble along.

I usually blog about PTSD and if you come here for that don't be discouraged by the different topic, this is what I do when I'm not talking about the subject that fills every corner of my life. I will be continuing to blog even while I write. It helps, a lot, to have something that I love to do and for me that's writing love stories! Even my husband gets in on the action, discussing books ideas, plots, and characters with me for hours. My work is available for free right now, just check out my links to the right. And make sure you make time for fun too!

PTSD: Causes and Effects

Picture courtesy of SISHannon

Over the last few weeks we've been discussing PTSD, defining it and calling it out because the things that frighten us the most are those that we don't understand. They hide in the corner, like trolls, where we sneak peeks at them and then dart our eyes away as soon as they look back, afraid that we will be seen. When we step up and drag that troll out of the shadow that it's been hiding in we're able to see that it's not the monster we've created but simply another of life’s curve balls that, when properly dealt with, can give us an opportunity to grow. Like a seasoned batter when we see that curve ball coming we need to throw our hip out and take advantage of it. Today I want to discuss what science thinks they know about PTSD, how and why it happens.

The brain is a complex organ that we don't fully understand and as a result the causes and effects of PTSD are not well understood yet. What we do know is that some people will get it and some will not, there is no one cause for PTSD, and, finally, the time between the event causing it and the onset of symptoms can vary greatly amongst individuals. Lets look at what we do know more closely.

PTSD is a response to trauma, be it war, violence, natural disaster or some other traumatic event but some people who experience those circumstances will walk away unscathed. Only an estimated 7% of the population will ever deal with it, that's 5.2 million people but certainly not everyone. Why? Why will some of us walk away without scars? The truth of the matter is that no one knows for sure why some do and some don't. What we do know for sure is that PTSD is a sign of strength not weakness, those that have it are survivors not cowards.

Photo courtesy of flickr-

Don't let the troll lie to you.

There are theories on the complex set of circumstances that cause one person to get PTSD and another to skip it. What it comes down to is that we are individuals, with individual reactions to stress, don't beat yourself up for being you. It is the very thing that makes you an individual that may cause your PTSD, embrace who you are and begin to heal.

So lets talk about the possible individuality's that make us vulnerable. Although we aren't sure what they are there are common threads that can be seen running amongst us. A history of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety can be a factor in how we react to stress and trauma. The life experiences that led us to the moment we developed it can also be a contributor. The intensity of the trauma and temperament of the individual are known to relate directly to the likelihood of PTSD developing. It is my opinion that these two work in tandem with each other. In the end PTSD develops when we feel that we've lost control of our destiny. Will everyone who experiences that loss of control get PTSD? No. But PTSD is more likely in those circumstances.

It makes sense that our life experiences contribute to our risk for PTSD, a life full of stress will overflow at some point. It's our life that makes us who we are. The reality that we must remember in this is that we are not helpless bystanders after the event we can choose to pursue healing and wholeness. We can choose to embrace the trolls that are trying to scare us and use them to grow.

The final point I'd like to address here is the variety between the event that will ultimately cause PTSD and the onset of PTSD itself. Like my previous points, this is individual and not well understood by the medical community. For some PTSD will never occur, for others it will occur immediately and there is broad diversity in between those two extremes. Where ever you fall in that continuum the important thing is that you admit to yourself that you need help dealing with the nightmare that introduced you to your troll and begin to banish it from your life.

Anyway we look at it PTSD is a troll. If you experience a traumatic event you may develop it or not, you may have the risk factors that lead to it and the trolls may take over, temporarily. Those trolls may show themselves immediately or lay in wait for years. What we do know for sure is that we don't have to be victims, we can pull them out and burn them in the light of day and the love of our family and friends and call them what they are, lies that we no longer have to believe.

There is help and recovery from PTSD, it doesn't have to be a life sentence. The brain may be a complex organ that we don't fully understand but researchers are doing what they do best and looking for answers. If you suspect you or a loved one has PTSD then reach out for help. Don't let the trolls win, and, please, don't hurt yourself. You are precious, even if you don't believe it today. Don't listen to the trolls.

Twice a month I review books about PTSD to help you find the resources that will help you the best. Check out my other posts and see what you can find! I also write romance because we can all use a little love in our lives. Peruse my writings and see if you find something you love, then share it with your friends! I write to make others smile, let me know how I did!

Camp NaNoWriMo is done! I completed my goals with a final word count of 90,417 words. In actuality I wrote much more than that this month because I also worked on some PTSD blog posts and other projects. My primary work this month was Catch a Falling Star. I also worked on organizing my blog and building a plan for a regular PTSD column. Finally I continued working on my social media platform, reading, and I built a PTSD Pinterest board to add to my collection. I will be taking May off of writing challenges but I will be participating in JunoWriMo which has a preset goal of 50K words. My plan is to write an anthology of 4-5 short stories that I can publish and offer for free as a sample of my writing style.

I usually blog about PTSD and if you come here for that don't be discouraged by the different topic, this is what I do when I'm not talking about the subject that fills every corner of my life. It helps, a lot, to have something that I love to do and for me that's writing love stories! Even my husband gets in on the action, discussing books ideas, plots, and characters with me for hours. My work is available for free right now, just check out my links above. And make sure you make time for fun too!

Catcha Falling Star has been wrapped up with a bow and the first draft is sitting on my kindle waiting for me to read it through. I have a planned field trip to Washington DC this month with my daughters and I will read it while I am there, taking notes on what I need to change. Once I've done that I will begin the second revision, maybe in July.

The Compromise is done as well. It is a shorter book only hitting 40K words. I've had so much fun writing it. I've migrated the first two books into Scrivnener and I am revising and outlining them to prepare them for publication. Also, as I mentioned in my last update, these three books fall into the category of adult romance and I had to decide how to advertise them. I have made a page for my blog that has an adult warning when you enter it. It's called The Manic Writer:After Dark and will house any of my adult romance, and adult romance reviews.

That's my final update for CampNaNoWriMo! I've had a lot of fun challenging myself with Camp in April and I am looking forward to June! If you like what you see here then please subscribe to me or add me to your feed and watch me grow. I can also be found on Twitter and Facebook and I am trying to learn how to use Instagram!

So it's time for another Camp NaNoWriMo update. It's day 15 of camp and I am chugging along. I've made up for my low word count last week despite not working over the weekend.  I've been working hard at editing Catch a Falling Star and even found a major flaw that I fixed immediately. I've also been working on my new story The Compromise. I have not been working as hard I'd like on the blog but I am making new habits and changing old ones. My current word count rest just short of 44K which I'm sure I'll blow by as I have more authoring to do today.

I usually blog about PTSD and if you come here for that don't be discouraged by the change in topic, this is the rest of my life. I find it helps to have something that I love to do and for me, writing is it! My hubby and I sit and discuss my book ideas, developing plots and characters for hours sometimes. It makes for great fun and we bond while we do it. Make sure you make time for fun too!

Catch a Falling Star is right on track to be revised by the end of April. I finished chapter 21/41 this morning and re-posted it for reading at FictionPress. One thing I've realized is that I will never be completely content with what I've written, I will always think it could be better. I guess I will have to learn to live with that.

The Compromise is coming along well and in creating the villain in it I've realized that I have a very dark side in my mind. He is truly awful. Perhaps that is fodder for a later blog post?

I've completed 24K words in it so far, so only a little over 4K in that this week but I lost Monday to a homeschool class and part of Tuesday to a sick dog. I am determined to finish the first draft this month. I've also realized that the first two parts of the trilogy, currently titled The Romance, and The Contract, will need major rewriting to be worth publishing but I am looking forward to that.

So that's the update for this week. We are halfway through Camp and I am excited to be reaching my first ever Camp goals. Are you participating in Camp? Are you a writer who wishes you could just get that novel down? Tell me your thoughts.

Camp NanoWriMo Update- Week 2

It's day 10 of Camp NanoWriMo and I missed my first update but I have lots to tell! My original intention was to spend all of camp editing and revising Catch a Falling Star and I have been working towards those goals diligently. I've also been authoring a new story that's been keeping me up nights and demanding to be written and working on developing my blog here. It's exhausting to have so much I want to write and actually try to make time to get it all done. My sister says there is no such thing as no time, you make time for the things you want to do but in reality sometimes the words flow faster than I can type and I do need to sleep, eat and move away from my desk occasionally. (#campnanowrimo) 

My first goal was to revise chapter 1 of Catch a Falling Star and make it more interesting. I'd love it if you'd go and read just that chapter leaving me a comment either here or on FictionPress to let me know if you like it.

So here's the tally. I've edited up to chapter 12 in Catch a Falling Star and I've been updating it on FictionPress as I go. That puts me ahead on my goals sheet that I created here. I've written almost 20K words in the new story subtitled The Compromise, and I've written one, as yet unpublished, blog post. My word count is sitting at 31980, and I upped my goal to 90K since the new book is flowing so fast. The blog is moving slowly for me which is odd since my specialty is research writing and that is pretty much what I am doing on it but we are moving forward with it and that's what counts, right?

For those who want to know about the new story, I have a fanfiction that's been very popular and I've decided to rewrite it and publish it. (Yes I know it's been done before but it's a very good story.) It falls outside of the genre I usually write being a bit more explicit than my usual romance work and I expect I will publish it under a pseudonym for that reason. So far it's two parts and The Compromise would be the third part making it a trilogy. So far it's the best yet of the three and I am very excited about it. Of course the other two will experience revision before they're published so that they are fully cohesive.

If I finish Amethyst in the Rough this year and the trilogy I will have written 5 (FIVE!) books this year! Not too shabby! Now to wade into the waters of indie publishing. Anyway, there's my update, a few days late. Thanks for visiting!

So here we are at another challenge, this time it's White Day Challenge. White day is a holiday celebrated in Japan on March 14. In Japan Valentines day is typically celebrated by women giving the men who are important to them a small gift. On White Day the men reciprocate by giving a gift to the women who are important to them. In the spirit of White Day we challenged ourselves to write a story that reflected this tradition of the man repaying a gift he was given by someone important.

Credits

Enjoy the Roundup.

This is the result of our latest challenge- it was set up by the group organizer WinnifredArtemis, thank you for feeding my madness. She chose the time-frame and the prompt for our group Writers Challenge.

The rules were simple, you had to write within the timeframe she'd set aside for it, and use the prompt, otherwise you were free to follow the voices in your head, I mean your own creativity. It could be a fanfiction, original work, poem, song, anything the voices in your head told you to write. In the case of the White Day challenge we had one day and the prompt was White Day itself.

I thought it might be cool to share what others had done, they were all good entries and I encourage you to check them out.  The names are linked to their profiles or blogs, the story titles will bring you to the madness. Our group meets on facebook and is open to any writer who wants to join. The submissions are listed in no particular order.

WinnifredArtemis started us off with an Attack on Titan fanfiction. Her entry is brief but engaging. I'm not familiar with the anime but based on WinnifredArtemis's entry I think it must go on my 'to watch' list. Thank you WinnifredArtemis!

Andre is our next submission with a Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover fanfic. For those who don't know a crossover will incorporate the authors favorite parts of both stories. I think Andre did a great job of slipping Naruto into the Fairy Tail world and pairing him up with Lucy. I am familiar with both these anime's and, although I don't currently have any cross-shippings myself, I think the NaruLu is a great one.

Gjalt rejoined us this time around with a No Game, No Life fanfic. He refers to his submission as an attempt at romance but I think he did an great job, and I have another anime added to my 'to watch list' thanks to his story that I now want to know more about.

Isis submitted a fanfic based onProfessor Layton but she assures her reader that they don't need to be familiar with the game to appreciate her story. It's a cute little one shot about a procrastinating boy named Luke. It will leave you smiling and wishing there were more.

Mohit rejoined us this time with another little humorous slice of life called, appropriately, WhiteDay. His plot twist will leave you chuckling and hoping you don't identify with his character too closely.

Finally, I wrote a quick little piece that I called Stepping Out. It is an original work that takes a peek into the romance of a couple trying to find their way in this busy world.

I hope you've enjoyed this little wrap up of our challenge. Follow the links, read their stories and let them know what you think! Writing is our passion, it's what feeds our souls but the reviews are oh so encouraging! And look for our next challenge which will come at us during the busy busy month of April while some of us will be hammering away at our word goals for Camp Nanowrimo. But hey, the picture says it all.

Credit for the lovely picture portraying the madness we give in to goes to my lovely and talented daughter who understands it all too well. 

Of course in the case of fanfics the characters belong to the original creators but the story's all stem from the madness in our heads. Our original works are ours and must be referenced as such if you share them, thank you.

Manic Monday Musings

So I know everyone is buzzing with Fifty Shades of Grey. And I'm not here to condemn or support it, I'm here simply with an observation.

I read this article about domestic violence in Cambodia, I encourage you to read it also.  It struck me what a cultural gap there is between us. The women in Cambodia have virtually no recourse when they are abused by their husbands.

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First of all, in Cambodia it's not violence until somebody bleeds. That means that when the woman in this article got hit over the head with the blunt end of a machete she was not being abused, but when he chopped her fingers off with it, it finally became a crime. WOW!

Second of all, the laws are designed to preserve the family, not the woman's life. If a woman is abused, and actually reports it because many don't, she has to submit to mediation three times before the court will even consider divorce. Combine that with the fact that 45% of the authorities considered it to be okay for a man to beat his wife if she deserved it and that 42% of wives accepted being drunk as a excuse for abuse and you end up with a culture that accepts the regular abuse of woman. WOW!

Finally, because of the culture in Cambodia, when a man does actually go to jail or prison for abusing his wife she loses all her income. Cambodia is a culture where the women don't work, can't work for a living wage and when you remove the provider because he is abusing his wife she loses her security, home, food, everything. She and her children become homeless. So she is encouraged to not press charges, or to retract them if she does in order to survive.

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Now let's compare this to America where women are tweeting that they are “looking for their Mr Grey.”  American women are fantasizing and asking to be tied up and, essentially, abused.  What a difference. I'm not judging anyone who desires this, or finds it erotic, it takes all types, I'm simply thankful that I live in a culture where I can make the choice.

I'm thankful that I live in a culture where I could leave my husband if he wasn't treating me the way I wanted to be treated. Where I could earn a living and support my children, albeit maybe not as well as he has but I could. Where if I call the police because my husband came after me with a machete they wouldn't shrug and wonder what I was making a fuss over.

I know there is a lot wrong with our culture, we still have racism and inequality, and homeless people and poverty,and on and on but there is a lot right with it also.

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Virginia Slims, if you are old enough to remember them, used a slogan for a while, “You've come a long way, baby.”  I agree we have. And we need to keep pressing forward because this is not a sprint it is a marathon and we have many laps to go. It is our example that will encourage others to step up and do the right thing, lets remember that.

Toodles

Mummified Monk

Opinionated Friday

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So this was in my Discovery news feed.  This monk, 1000 yrs ago, went through this ritual and mummified himself in veneration to his beliefs.  That some hardcore religion there.  I consider myself to be a fairly religious person.  I have my beliefs, I keep them to myself for the most part, unless I'm asked.  But I'm fairly certain that I could never do this sort of thing to show my faith.  I mean, he spent over eight years preparing his body and mummifying himself.  I have trouble sticking to a diet for eight days.  And the stuff he ate!  Nuts and seeds for the first 1000 days, then twigs and bark for 1000 days, and then poison that made him vomit.  

My hat goes off to this man who lived 1000 years ago.  In this day and age of new stuff every year I'm sure I could never commit myself to something the way he did.  That's some serious madness.

The original article can be found here.  Be sure to check it out.  By the way, I'm sure there's a story in here, perhaps a diary of his experience?  I just can't write anything in which my main character dies at the end.  I wrote a fanfiction like that once and I cried every time I had to read it.  And she died of old age...can you imagine?

Writing Challenge Roundup

I needed proof that I wasn't the only one. Compelled to write, no matter the topic. So I joined a group, either their all mad like me, or they're very tolerant of me and my madness. I'm not sure.

This is the result of our first challenge- it was set up by the group organizer WinnifredArtemis, thank you for feeding my madness. She chose the time-frame and the prompt for our group Writers Challenge.

The rules were simple, you had to write within the week she'd set aside for it, and use the prompt, Do Not Enter, otherwise you were free to follow the voices in your head, I mean your own creativity. It could be a fanfiction, original work, poem, song, anything the voices in your head told you to write.

I thought it might be cool to share what others had done, they were all good entries and I encourage you to check them out. The names are linked to their profiles or blogs, the story titles will bring you to the madness.

Gjalt wrote the opening of an original story, Terror Siblings, that I'm sure I want to read more of...I only hope he intends to finish it. Just for the record I want these two on my side if anything goes down. 

Lia wrote a fanfiction about NCIS:LA called Do Not Enter This Room that I almost mistook for our valentines day challenge it was so sweet and romantic. Great job Lia! I have a soft spot for romance anyway and this one made “awww” at the end.

Gina also wrote a fanfic about NCIS:LA called Do Not Enter.  I have to admit I haven't watched this show in years but I enjoyed the story's regardless. Hers was not a romance but rather about the inner struggle Callen has dealing with his history and the memories he carries with him.

April posted a great original story, And the Sign Said, that will keep you at the edge of your seat waiting for the next line. She offers an amazing plot twist at the end that will leave you begging for more.

Caroline posted what I hope will be the beginning of a great book. She draws you in and makes you feel her main character. I'll be looking for more of this one..

WinnifredArtemis herself posted a teaser for a fanfic she's working on based on The Originals called Do Not Enter. I'm not familiar with the story but her teaser leaves me wanting more, is he werewolf, vampire, addict? Inquiring minds want to know!

Mohit wrote a bit of original humor about the Do Not Enter topic. It left me wondering what I would do if I found myself in a similar situation.

And of course my own entry which was an original work Do Not Enter, with a touch of mystery. I decided to leave my usual romance aside for this one and try something new. The madness spreads, who knows where it will end.

I hope you've enjoyed this little wrap up of our challenge. Follow the links, read their stories and let them know what you think! Writing is our passion, it's what feeds our souls but the reviews are oh so encouraging!

Of course in the case of fanfics the characters belong to the original creators but the story's all stem from the madness in our heads. Our original works are ours and must be referenced as such if you share them, thank you.

Manic Monday Musings

Good morning! And welcome to Manic Monday Musings, a place where you can glimpse into the rambling madness within my head. Each week I will offer you a peek into my thoughts, my madness goes far and deep though so be prepared to read about daily life, anime, news and pop culture, and whatever else pops into my head. Consider it an affirmation of your sanity.

Here we go:

Plant Serial Killer

I have a confession to make. It's a serious one, even though it won't sound serious when you first hear it, so don't laugh at me.

Well, I guess that kind of sets you up to laugh at me, doesn't it? I mean, I'm asking to be laughed at simply by asking you not to. Because either you'll laugh at what I have to tell you or you'll laugh at me for thinking you would.

But I digress...

I have a confession to make and it's not a pretty one. I'm a serial killer...of plants. I'm not kidding about this. If you give me a plant you are pretty much resigning it to death. If I buy one my kids take bets on how long they'll last.

It's not like I don't try to keep them alive. I water them, sometimes too enthusiastically which is often the beginning of the end for them. Sometimes though, I forget to do even that... poor things.

It's not as if I intentionally kill them. And sometimes they last a really long time for me. I have a spider plant that I inherited from my grandfather when he died. I've had it for almost 14 years and, although it has come close, it's not dead, yet. It's siblings however have not been so lucky... oops.

It's gotten to the point that when I bring a new plant home and announce the end of my reign as a plant serial killer my kids tell the plant their sorry. As if they know there's no hope for me.

This will be the year...I will end my reign of plant killing.

I hope.

Writing Challenges

Hi there blog readers from the web.  You've come back for another taste of madness I see.  This was written in response to a challenge prompt that a friend of mine put out this week.  You can check her blog out here.  The prompt was do not enter, and the only requirement was that the work be centered around that theme.  I hope you enjoy!

Pic obtained from

DO NOT ENTER

The four friends sat and stared at each other, unsure what their next step would be. They had expected immediate freedom when they'd been released from the cell they'd been trapped in for what seemed like forever. Now they sat in a circle trying to decide their next move.

Florence tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder, she was glad she'd had it up in ponytail. “I think we should go for it.”

“What if it's a trap?” Stanley, the cautious one of the group, asked with fear evident in his voice. The experience had been the hardest on him.

“It can't be. Why would they do that? Release us just to recapture us?” Helen countered his argument with her usual sensible logic.

“We all just need to be calm.” The final member, the quietest one, added his opinion. “Either it's a trap or it's not. We have to decide and then stand behind our decision.” He stood and walked away from the group recalling the events of the past week in his mind and trying to make sense of them.

They had been walking home from their usual Friday night pizza when it had started to rain.

“That's odd. There's no rain in the forecast.” Helen was looking at the sky in wonder.

“We could take the shortcut through the forest. It would get us home in half the time.” Doug watched his friends knowing that Stan would be the holdout.

“They say you should stay away from the forest on the night of a full-moon.” Stan's voice was shaking and frightened.

“That's just an old wives tale!” Florence laughed at him. “Besides the trees are thick and will keep us from getting too wet if we hurry.” She ran into the forest leaving the others no choice but to follow.

That had been the beginning. They'd walked through the forest for less than five minutes when they'd been surrounded by a circle of shadows that slowly closed in on them. Doug watched as Stanley fell to his knees with a cry and then collapsed, unconscious on the ground. Flo was next, she cried a little in fear. Helen followed her to her knees with an unbelieving look on her face and the words “Run Doug!” before she passed out. The last thing Doug remembered was watching the ground rush up to meet him before he woke.

He opened his eyes and noted that Flo was the only other conscious one amongst them.

“Where are we?” He looked at her grimly.

“In some sort of cell I think.” She looked around them. “I've only been awake a few minutes longer than you.”

“I see.” He looked around the dimly lit area noting the hardened dirt floor under them. It appeared to be some sort of cave with bars at the front. “Have you called out?”

“No. I was afraid of making whoever caught us angry.” She glanced down in embarrassment.

Doug rose, steadying himself against the head rush it brought on. Standing at the bars he hollered loudly, “Is anyone there? Let us out!” The echo of his voice was his only answer.

“Stop making such a racket. My head hurts.” Helen held her head as she moved to stand.

“Yeah. Let's not attract any attention if we don't have to.” Stan cowered on the ground.

“Obviously someone put us in here, and we need to get them to let us out.” Doug gave his friend an annoyed look.

“I agree.” Helen joined him at the bars and yelled as well. “Hey! You won't get away with this! Let us out!”

They had spent the next few hours arguing amongst themselves as to whether they should attract the attention of their captors or not. Doug and Helen had both felt it was their best chance, Flo agreed with them but was afraid, and Stan was completely terrified of the idea.

“What if they want us to demand our release?” Helen argued with the two hold outs. They had agreed to be quiet until they'd reached a group decision.

“What if they want us to be quiet?” Stan had countered.

It was true, they didn't know their captors reason for trapping them and so they didn't have any idea what the terms of release would be. They all sat and stared at each other wavering in their resolve and how to escape.

“Look Stan.” Doug tried to calm his childhood friend. “If they were going to harm us they'd have done it by now. We've been in here for hours. We have to try and get their attention so we can get out.”

“I agree.” Flo nodded her blonde head, pony tail bobbing up and down behind her.

“I don't know.” Fear danced across Stan's face as he looked into the shadows beyond the bars. “What's out there might be scarier than what's in here.”

“True.” Doug nodded. “But you'll never know if you don't try.” He smiled reassuringly at the redhead. “It's like life. You have to keep taking risks. You have to trust yourself and your strength.”

Stan looked up at his friends as they stood around him. “If you say so.” He stood shakily to his feet and approached the bars with them.

All in unison they hollered. “Let us out!”

As if that had been the key to the cell the door drifted open. They all looked at each other in amazement and walked through it, wonder filling their eyes at how easily it had opened. They squinted in the dark and found a corridor leading off the open room their cell had been in. Now they were at the end of that corridor facing a door with an ominous sign on it.

DO NOT ENTER

And in smaller letters under it.

Entry offered only to the one who can see what is around them and not be ruled by it.

“I say we open it.” Doug ran his hand through his short black hair. “So far we haven't been hurt for acting on our own.” He rose from the group, striding over to the door.

“What do you think it means?” Helen joined him at the door, squinting at the enigmatic message.

“I'm sure I don't care.” Doug shook his head and reached for the handle.

“NO!” Stan stood and ran to him. “It's a trap.”

“I don't think so.” Flo joined them. “I think it's a riddle and whoever solves the riddle can open the door for us.”

“Whatever.” Doug shrugged and twisted the handle. Click, click, but the door didn't open.

“How can you be ruled by what is around you?” Flo scowled at the sign. “What's around us? Darkness, I'm not afraid of the dark.”

Helen looked at her and smiled. “How can you see what's around you when it's dark?”

Stan looked at the words, light dawning in his eyes. “It's me.” He smiled at his friends.

“Who is?”

“I'm the one that can open the door.” He reached for the knob with a new strength in his hand and confidence in his eyes. “I can see the world around me and not allow their lousy opinions of me to keep me trapped any longer because I have friends to lean on and keep me strong when I need them to.”

Doug, Flo and Helen gasped in unison. “Stan!”

“It’s like you've been telling me for years,” he looked Doug in the eye, “don't let the idiot's get you down.” He grinned broadly. “I see it all so clearly now. I can see the idiots that make fun of me and cut me down but I don't have to let them decide who I am anymore. I can let my friends do that with me.” He chuckled. “I should have seen it so much sooner.” Reaching for the door he paused at Doug's inquiry.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why should you have seen it so much sooner?” Doug held him back with his hand on his forearm.

“Because it's been staring me in the face since our cell opened.” He smiled confidently up at his lifetime friend. “When we worked as a team our prison opened. When I stop looking to the world for who I am and instead look to my friends the cell opened, I trusted you to be there with me when things went wrong. It's time for me to stop being ruled by the bullies and start living.” He crowed like a rooster. “Here I come world, watch out!” He gripped the handle of the door and twisted it.

Light poured in and washed over them as they tumbled through the doorway into Flo's backyard.

“I don't get it. This is where the shortcut through the woods brings us.” Flo looked around them in surprise. “Hey, where's the door?” She was looking behind them in disbelief.

Stan put his arm around her shoulder and shook his head gently. “It's all in my mind, Flo, all in my mind.”